The Influence of Characteristics of Men’s Job on the Timing of the First Birth in Canada

Germain Bingoly-Liworo

Abstract

The objective of the study was to illustrate the impact of characteristics of the
job of at least six months held by men born from 1930 to 1965 on the timing of
the first birth. The hypothesis is that characteristics of the job occupied at the
beginning career lead to a differential transition to parenthood, characterized
by a greater likelihood of having a first child for men whose job shows stability, compared with those whose first job is unstable and precarious. The data used are derived from the Statistics Canada 2001 General Social Survey, to which applied methods are used in event history analysis. The results validate the hypothesis, in indicating that full-time wage earners and self-employed workers have a greater likelihood of having a first child than part-time wage-earners. Results also show that the effect of characteristics of the job is limited in the first five years spent on the job. In addition, the job seems to accelerate the transition to parenthood for men married before being hired. All of the results suggest the need for family support to help young couples become established and for governments to adopt measures to encourage young people’s work integration.